Maryland men’s basketball trounces Georgia Tech, 85-70, in first 2026 exhibition

Preseason expectations for Maryland men’s basketball have varied significantly in the weeks leading up to head coach Buzz Williams’ second season at the helm. But in Sunday’s neutral-site exhibition game against Georgia Tech, the Terps positively answered many lingering questions.

Maryland swarmed the Yellow Jackets from tipoff to the buzzer, displaying upgraded play in key areas in an 85-70 victory.  Fourteen Terps saw playing time in the first opportunity for fans to get a look at their new-look roster. 

The Terps came out with a three-guard lineup to start the contest and quickly jumped out to a 10-4 lead, with Andre Mills and Mike McNair Jr. draining 3-pointers. But after Williams brought in a trio of larger alternatives, the offense briefly sputtered through disjointed sets.

Williams made five substitutions in the first seven minutes, a hallmark element of his coaching style. It didn’t take long for the offense to regain momentum as Maryland lunged to a 13-point advantage with 7:32 remaining in the first half.

At the matchup’s conclusion, the Terps’ bench contributed 38 points, with only freshmen Kaden House and Adama Tambedou clearing the 30% usage-percentage mark.

Rebounding became a huge point of emphasis for the Terps midway through the 2025-26 season, and a drastic improvement in the paint contributed to their dominant performance. Maryland out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets,  44 to 33, including 16 on the offensive end.

Pharrel Payne was a major factor in the recalibrated rebounding efforts, hauling in nine on the day. His return to the hardwood brought tenacity to the Terps as he scored 16 points and grabbed three steals.

With 3:26 remaining in the first half, Payne knocked the ball loose from Colby Garland’s grasp and dove to gather the loose ball. The redshirt senior, from the floor, then tipped the ball to DJ Wagner, who emphatically jammed it home on a one-handed slam. 

Wagner was one of eight Terps guards who saw playing time Sunday, demonstrating the deep bench Williams has to play with in the backcourt. Those guards generated 31 of Maryland’s 45 first-half points as they headed into the locker room with a 21-point lead.

“I feel like we have a lot of great guards, and you could put our four guards that we have in with any lineup, and I feel like it’ll have the same impact,” House said.

Terp guards excelled from beyond the arc, draining 38.1% of their attempts for 28% of Maryland’s total points. The Terps’ improved their shot selection compared to last year — they took the third-most 3-pointers in the conference last season but managed the fourth-worst percentage. 

Guillermo Del Pino — a fan-favorite but inconsistent newcomer last year — had one of the more impressive shifts of the game. With 13:03 to go in the game, Del Pino nabbed the ball from Garland, drove to the other end and delivered a textbook alley-oop for an authoritative Payne slam. He contributed a defensive rebound 23 seconds later and saved a pass from sailing into the stands shortly after.

Baba Oladotun struggled to score in his 25 minutes of playing time. The five-star recruit made just one field goal — a dunk at the halfway point of the opening frame — and committed four fouls as he was defended at close proximity throughout the game. He also shot an abysmal 1-of-5 from the free throw line. However, Oladotun did display good handles, running the offense at various times.

Three things to know

1. House’s unexpected showing. The four-star freshman came into Sunday with limited expectations of playing time. However, House proved why Williams sought his commitment so aggressively against Georgia Tech, scoring 14 points in just 14 minutes of playing time.

“He’s a dribble and a half ahead. He’s a pass ahead,” Williams said. “He’s three seconds ahead in the decisions that he makes.”

2. Issues at the line. Maryland’s unfortunate 72.2% free-throw percentage placed it 17th out of 18 Big Ten teams last season. Issues in that area remained unsolved Sunday, as the Terps went 19-for-27 from the charity stripe for a substandard 70.4% free throw percentage.

3. Looking ahead. In just a week’s time, Maryland will return to the Xfinity Center to face West Virginia in its final exhibition game. From there, the Terps will have roughly two weeks to prepare before their season opener against Bucknell Nov. 2.